INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference continues to rank among one of the nation’s premier NCAA Division II conferences for academic success. Among the 24 NCAA Division II conferences analyzed in the report published this week by the national office, the GLVC ranked tied for third in Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) at 65 percent and third in Academic Success Rate (ASR) at 84 percent for all student-athletes.
Both numbers are increases from last year, as the GLVC’s FGR was 64 percent and ASR was 82 percent, both of which ranked third.
The Northeast-10 Conference had the highest FGR percentage at 71, while the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference was second with a 66 percent. The California Collegiate Athletic Association also ranked third at 65 percent.
For ASR, the Sunshine State Conference and Northeast-10 Conference led the way at 86 percent, followed by the GLVC at 84 percent.
Since 2012, the GLVC has annually ranked among the nation’s top three Division II conferences in both FGR and ASR.
The report, which focuses on the academic success of freshman cohorts who enrolled in school between 2007-10, and were then given a six-year window to graduate, indicates that 4,178 of the GLVC’s 4,979 student-athletes earned their degrees, which established the conference’s ASR. The FGR was calculated by 2,273 graduates among 3,472 selected student-athletes.
According to NCAA.org, the Division II ASR, which was first introduced in 2005, is a rolling average of the graduation outcomes for Division II student-athletes. Even when using the less-inclusive federal rate (which does not include transfer student-athletes and mid-year enrollees), Division II student-athletes perform significantly better than the general student body. In addition to the 71 percent ASR figure, the FGR for Division II student-athletes is 56 percent, seven percentage points higher than the overall student body at Division II colleges and universities.
Below is a look at the top 10 NCAA Division II conferences as it pertains to student-athlete FGR and ASR.
FEDERAL GRADUATION RATE (Student-Athletes Only) – Division II Student-Athlete Average: 56%
| Rank |
Conference |
Enrolled |
Graduated |
Rate |
| 1. |
Northeast-10 Conference |
2829 |
2000 |
71% |
| 2. |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
5005 |
3299 |
66% |
| 3. |
GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE |
3472 |
2273 |
65% |
| |
California Collegiate Athletic Association |
2152 |
1409 |
65% |
| 5. |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
1921 |
1163 |
61% |
| 6. |
Sunshine State Conference |
1649 |
993 |
60% |
| |
East Coast Conference |
1523 |
917 |
60% |
| 8. |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
4503 |
2650 |
59% |
| 9. |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
3533 |
2053 |
58% |
| |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
2719 |
1575 |
58% |
ACADEMIC SUCCESS RATE (Student-Athletes Only) – Division II Student-Athlete Average: 71%
| Rank |
Conference |
Enrolled |
Graduated |
Rate |
| 1. |
Northeast-10 Conference |
6076 |
5225 |
86% |
| |
Sunshine State Conference |
2828 |
2428 |
86% |
| 3. |
GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE |
4979 |
4178 |
84% |
| 4. |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
8166 |
6518 |
80% |
| 5. |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
2554 |
2026 |
79% |
| |
East Coast Conference |
2178 |
1724 |
79% |
| 7. |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
3887 |
3028 |
78% |
| 8. |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
5779 |
4451 |
77% |
| 9. |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
3047 |
2308 |
76% |
| |
Pacific West Conference |
3303 |
2503 |
76% |